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Anaheim City Council Elections are Settled

by • November 22, 2016

It’s all over but the shouting in Anaheim has the votes outstanding likely won’t change the outcomes posted yesterday by the Orange County ROV on OCVote.com, but in District 3, Dr. Jose Moreno eeked out a 44-vote victory over incumbent Council member Jordan Brandman.

I’m surprised by the closeness of this race simply because Moreno ran in the city’s most Latino district in an election with year where heavy Latino turnout was expected.

Other new members of the City Council are Denise Barnes in District 1 and Steve Faessel in District 5. Lucille Kring won re-election in District 4 by a wide margin. Depending on the blogs you read, Kring was the most hated council member yet she had the highest margin of victory in any council race.

So while the Anaheim Council moves from five members to seven, there remains only one Democrat. While Dr. Moreno is part of the Tait slate, it is going to take four votes to move progressive ideas through the Anaheim city council.

There never has been a gate tax before the council. It wouldn’t be a tax on Disney but rather a tax on those attending the parks, Angels games, Ducks games, concerts etc. Anaheim can always raise the sales tax if it needs more revenue.

Iwantmy100+Million

November 22, 2016 at 8:32 pm

Ruling out a gate tax for another thirty years or however long it was *is* the giveaway. If you don’t think that was about a gate tax, you should have words with the OC Register who did several stories with “gate tax” in the title. Here’s one:

Here you go: Here in Orange County, Disneyland Resort accounts for nearly a third of the $9.6 billion tourism market and generates $370 million in state and local tax revenues, according to a study commissioned by Disney. The city’s tax revenue from hotel stays, heavily tied to Disney parks, is projected to hit $133 million next year – nearly half of its total revenue.
…No other city that houses a Disney theme park has applied an admissions tax. Florida charges a general sales tax of 6.5 percent for each ticket purchased for Walt Disney World.

The article goes on to say an admissions tax/gate tax of 4.25% would result in more than a million fewer visits to the park — a million fewer people adding to Anaheim’s coffers via sales taxes.

Unless you think cutting off your nose to spite your face is smart, the story posted is actually a great defense about why there shouldn’t be a gate tax. In Orlando, Orange County-Florida has a slightly higher sales tax than other counties and benefits from tourism dollars generated.

Iwantmy100+Million

November 23, 2016 at 2:04 pm

Oh, I thought you were saying that a gate tax never came before council, now you’re conceding that point and saying a gate tax is a bad idea? OK.

Yes, you can raise revenue by raising sales taxes, but taxing everybody wasn’t the question, the question was about yet another Disney subsidy.

I read theatrticle fine, I understood it too. Perhaps 4.25% gate tax would severely impact attendance, so it’s a good thing that the only place I’ve ever heard thatnumber bandied about was that article. How about a $1 a head gate tax, which is around 1%., which would be around $16M in revenue to the city a year.

Yes, you don’t want to kill the golden goose, any more than you want the tail to wag the dog (so many clichés, I know) – but you don’t need to worry about Disney’s business plan, they can do that better themselves. You’re not challenging any right wing noise machine, you are part of the noise machine. With Democrats who think like that, who needs Republicans.

There is no gate tax proposal before the Council and I don’t believe there every has been a gate tax proposal. So it can’t be a subsidy to Disney because even if there was a gate tax, Park customers are taxed, Disney would collect it and turn it over to the city. Disney is not taxed here so to call it a subsidy to Disney would be inaccurate. They get no benefit from a gate tax, thought I am sure they could charge the city a handling fee for a daily large transaction.

Even at a dollar a head, Disney still gets no subsidy. Its just a tax on families and every time I go to Disneyland, I see plenty of young families there trying to do as much as possible with their kids because of the cost of tickets to get in.

This isn’t right or left issue, it is your misunderstanding of what a subsidy is and a gate tax is not a subsidy to Disney.

Iwantmy100+Million

November 23, 2016 at 5:36 pm

I will not dignify the notion that you are unaware of anything about a gate tax coming before council withany sort of response since it’s beyone the pale, and you admitting something, even something obvious, is not the point.

Perhaps I should have said de-facto subsidy, is that better? OK. The city has foregone the ability to charge a gate tax for the next three decades, at Disney’s urging, since Disney (and you) say a gate tax would hurt their business i.e. cost them money. De-facto subsidy, it is.

Now we could talk about explicit subsidies at the hands of Brandman & Co., like hotels? Shall we talk about that? Or maybe it doesn’t matter anymore since Jordy’s new job will now be bringing coffee to Uncle Curt, the noted Democrat.

Finally, I appreciate your wry sense of humor when, apparently favoring scattershot sales tax increases over targeted taxes that affect only people who can pay a c-note a head for a day at the Happiest Place on Earth™

Let’s try this again. Disney doesn’t get a cent from a gate tax. It isn’t a subsidy or a de-facto subsidy. The city can pass a sales tax at any time. If you want to be explicit about hotel subsidies, look at what incentive subsidies have done for downtown LA and LALive and what that area is adding to LA’s economy from the construction jobs created and decent jobs created in that area. Sure, some are minimum wage by the higher the star of the hotel, generally the better the pay.

Iwantmy100+Million

November 23, 2016 at 7:57 pm

“Let’s try this again. Disney doesn’t get a cent from a gate tax.”

Did someone say they got a cent from a gate tax? Of course not, they were adamantly opposed to one. Are you suggesting that they made expansion [supposedly] conditional on not having a gate tax, yet they don’t think it would affect their bottom line? Try again, again.

A bit closer to home, look at what incentive subsidies have done for Garden Walk. I know, ouch.

Gustavo Arellano

November 23, 2016 at 12:34 pm

You can HEAR Blueviator grinding his teeth in every letter on this post haha.

Dan Chmielewski

November 23, 2016 at 4:00 pm

Nope. It was a pretty easy story to write, especially when talking about branding. Has it ever occurred to you that when it comes to racism, you’re about the top of the list when it comes to people who practice it?

Miguel

November 25, 2016 at 2:03 pm

Gustavo Arellano ridiculed the idea of district elections in Anaheim and called Dr. Moreno a “race hustler.” Why is he now pretending he was for the people of Anaheim and sucking up to Dr. Moreno? Oh, the chameleon politics of Gustavo el camaleón!

Like I said before, there is no gate tax proposal before the council. What most of the blog commenter crowd at OJ want is Disney to pay more in taxes but it’s a tax on people who enter the park and most are not one percenters. Most are middle class. It’s not a subsidy to Disney by any definition of the word

I wantmy100+Million

December 3, 2016 at 1:40 am

I am not Ryan Cantor, apparently he’s never been afraid to post here under his own name before, don’t know why that would have changed.

Dan, maybe you should go set Voice of OC straight since in their article about the new Anaheim CC majority, they say, and this is a quote:

“The new council will likely try to roll back some of the decisions of the previous council, including a 45-year moratorium on gate taxes for Disneyland”

Have at them.

OCDEM

November 28, 2016 at 7:28 pm

I see the clown car across town is ALL riled up right now. Lets take a quick look at the players:

*Vern Nelson, Anaheim, Ca – This covicted FELON,recently moved to Anaheim, when the prospect of a revolt became real. Spent time in jail for multiple Drunk Driving offenses. But he plays a hell of a chopsticks on the piano! Employment unknown. (Presumably lives off his new found wifes salary as a caretaker).

*Paul Lucas, Orange, Ca – Convicted FELON. Paul (AKA Henry Lipton) spent a chunk of time recently at Theo Lacy jail on METH AND WEAPONS charges. But, Paul/Henry is a Democrat and Pot advocate (explain that one to you kids class at Westmont Jose).

*Cynthia Ward, Anaheim, CA. – this fundemental Christian gladfly puts up a good fight…..until she is asked to put her money where her mouth is. Thats somewhere close to Tom Taits beltline. AT LEAST SHE actually lives in Anaheim.

*Ryan Cantor, Fullerton, Ca- Ry ry will go bye bye soon. He seems smart enough to concentrate on his family instead of a city where he does not live. But who knows, he suffers from Greg Diamonds over inflated self-worth syndrome. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR KIDS A$$hole.

Jeff LeTounueo, Brea, Ca – The self described Gay Rights activist who hosted a fundraiser for Jose Moreno, then PUSSED OUT and REMAINED SILIENT as Moreno benefitted from equalities enemy #1. Coward and SELL OUT doesn’t begin to describe this guy.

Mirevette Judah, Buena Park, Ca- Mirevette stood next to a FAT WHITE guy in an Oakland A’s cap at COSTCO in La Habra on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 while he fought two BIGOTS berating a lesbian couple. Fat guys wife, asked Mirvette for help, in her hijab, she said “No, I don’t like to get involved”……Unless it looks good on Facebook.

Jose Moreno

Gotta Go. More soon. Iggy just called from lock up. CHUCHUA forgot to put money on his books.